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RRO Shifter Sheet

Rocky Road Outfitters' Transfer Case Shifter Sheet

Suzuki
Samurais were introduced to the United States in late 1985 as a 1986
model, and they have proven to be long-lasting vehicles. With most of them
still on the road after 15 years and hundreds of thousands of miles, the
few shortcomings have been discovered and are being addressed by the
aftermarket. One of these weaknesses is a part that Suzuki refers to as
the "sheet" in the transmission and transfer case's shift lever
assemblies.

Over time, the rubber ring that locates the shift
lever's ball begins to disintegrate from exposure to oil. As most Samurai
owners are aware, the transmission's shift lever becomes increasingly
loose, a result of a worn shifter sheet. Eventually, the sheet will
degrade enough to allow the transmission or transfer case to become locked
in gear or neutral. OEM replacement shifter sheets have always been
available, but they are expensive to purchase from a dealership and will
eventually require replacement again. Rocky Road Outfitters has addressed
this problem with a simple, affordable solution.

Recently,
the transfer case in one of my Samurais became locked in neutral as I
shifted it from low-range to high-range. No amount of wiggling of the
shift lever could get it to budge, so my Samurai was stuck; it couldn't
move under its own power. Thankfully, I had just found out about Rocky
Road's new bright orange polyurethane replacement sheet and promptly
installed one into my transfer case.

Installation is a simple procedure that can be done
with ordinary hand tools without removing the transfer case from the
vehicle. A concise step-by-step instruction sheet is included. Before the
new shifter sheet can be installed, the old one must be removed and the
shift lever and hole must be thoroughly cleaned.

To access the shifter, unscrew the shift knob from
the lever and lift the carpet out of the way. Unscrew the four screws of
the shift boot retainer and slide them off the top of the shift lever and
place out of the way.

Looking down the shift lever, you can see another
small rubber boot where the lever enters the top of the transfer case. The
metal boot retainer clip must be removed so that the boot can be slid up
the lever and out of the way.

Inside the transfer case is a spring-loaded shift
lever retention ring that holds the shift lever in the transfer case. To
remove this, two long screwdrivers must be used to push the retainer down
against its spring, and rotated ?-turn counterclockwise. This will allow
the shift lever to be lifted out of the transfer case. Be careful not to
allow any foreign material to fall into the exposed hole of the transfer
case while the shifter is out.

My shift lever was covered with pieces of the
disintegrated sheet. It wasn't until I pried the old shifter sheet out of
the transfer case with a screwdriver that I realized just what bad shape
the sheet was in.

The ball end of the shift lever and the transfer
case's shifter hole must be thoroughly cleaned of any pieces of the old
sheet before installation of the new sheet and the shift lever. Make sure
that the new polyurethane sheet is installed with the concave side facing
up.

Slide the shift lever into place and reinstall the
spring-loaded retainer. Check for proper operation of the shifter, and
then reinstall the small boot, the large boot, the carpet, and the shifter
knob.

The polyurethane shifter sheet should last the
lifetime of the vehicle, so although it is an easy part to replace, this
will be one repair that should never need to be done again. Shift
operation is tight and controlled, and I haven't had the transfer case
become stuck in neutral since replacement of the sheet.

Rocky Road Outfitters' price of just $15 is
significantly less than many dealerships charge for the inferior OEM
replacement sheets and installation is simple enough for even a beginner
to accomplish. Make your old Samurai shift as well as it did back in the
1980s!